DISCLAIMOR: I don't own any of the characters in this story but Callie Taylor.. The rest I'm just having fun with...

ooc: Don't be too upset with poor Bobby... he just may prove himself yet... but that doesn't mean his life is going to be peaches & cream or easy...

-Chapter Six-

Answers

Stephanie shot an angry look at Bobby then pushed past him and entered the room. She moved quickly to Callie's side and began yanking at the leather straps until the girl was free of her bounds.

"It's gonna be alright now Callie.. I'm here and I'll make sure they don't hurt you gain..." her voice was soothing, but Callie wasn't having any of it.

"Too late.." Callie sobbed. "Between Drew and Bobby... I just don't care any more... Both are liars. I don't know which one is worse. Don't care... Let's just get this over with..."

She turned to Ranger, totally ignoring Bobby who was standing by the door. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know where your brother is," Ranger repeated the same question he'd been asking since he'd.. introduced.. himself to her.

Callie looked at Stephanie, who nodded once, then at Ranger. "I don't know where he is right now," she told him. "But I can guess where he might go once he hits town."

"And where might that be?"

"He has a number of safe houses he and his men used to use when they were pulling jobs," Callie told him. "I have a list of most of them. You could check them out and see if anyone is living in any of them."

"How do we know you'll be giving us the whole list?" Bobby asked and Callie ignored him totally.

Ranger noticed the girl didn't even look at his man when he asked his question. He wanted the answer himself so he repeated the question.

"When I found out my brother was the one who killed my parents.. I knew he'd be coming after me next," she explained slowly, after another nod from Stephanie. "He wanted the Family Business to use to launder his stolen & ill gotten gains. With my parent's out of the way.. I was the only thing standing in the way of him taking over, and he knew I would never let him do anything illegal. That didn't mean he didn't try any way. I got a call from the bank. Drew was trying to take out a loan to -Expand- he told them. But since we co-owned the business the bank needed my signature on the loan application before they could process it.. I refused and then little things started happening."

She went quiet as she tried to put the –happenings- in order. She didn't want him to think she was blowing things out of proportion.

"One on one they didn't seem so strange.. but when you link them all together.. it was enough to make me believe someone was out to get me," her blue eyes took on a far off look kind of thing as she remembered. "The first time was when someone broke into my home. Nothing was taken, but someone trashed it good like they were looking for something. Then my office was broken into, and the brake lines in my car where cut.. that's when I started getting scared."

"You had the car checked out by a mechanic?" Ranger asked, looking at Stephanie who nodded, even as Callie went on.

"Yes, I insisted on it being looked at when the idiot cop who showed up first treated me like a stupid woman driver. He took one look at the car and my clothing and pegged me for a spoiled rich bitch with a new toy I couldn't handle. I wanted to challenge him to a few turns around the speedway but.. Most men hate it when a woman beats them at their own game, and since I didn't want to see a grown man cry, I kept my mouth shut. But when he went to give me a ticket for reckless driving.. I insisted that the car be looked over.. I was more then happy to tell the jerk –I told you so— when the report came back in.. the mechanic not only confirmed my beliefs, he asked me who I pissed off when he was done giving his report."

She went on to give them a list of other –happenings-. "Then I thought I'd gotten smart.. I –KNEW- Drew was behind all the attacks.. so I thought if I got some insurance to use against him.. he'd leave me alone. I broke into –his- home and office and copied a bunch of files off his computer to disk..."

"I checked his computers, both his home and office. They have them down in impound. Cop took possession of them right after he was arrested. I didn't find anything on them," Bobby interrupted, his deep blue eyes narrowing as he regarded her.

Callie snorted, but still did not look at him. Her eyes were on Ranger. "I suppose that after he realized someone had broken into his computers and copied the information he had... he was smart enough to either reformat the drive and wipe out every thing incriminating. Or he trashed them and get new ones. I'm not surprised nothing was found on them."

"How did Taylor find out someone had been in his computer?

The woman's face suddenly lost some of the tiredness she'd been feeling moments before. Her lips curved slowly upwards at the corners in a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Could be.. someone left him a note telling him if any more -accidents- happen to them.. the disk would be in the cops hands by nightfall. Or I might have been the fact that the extra set of disks he had hidden in a safe place were replaced with a can of dog food. I don't know which one gave it away."

"I take ithe didn't like being compaired to a dog or Ithat he didn't believe you," Ranger quipped. He was starting to like this lady. Maybe there was more to her then he'd first thought. Certainly Bobby was going to have his hands full with her. It might be fun to watch the chase.

"No.." she frowned remembering all to well what happened after that. "I thought I'd have a few day to get my things together and find some place to hide out.. But I under estimated Drew. He cameafter me the same night and if it hadn't been for Stephanie breaking into the wrong apartment... I'd be dead right now."

"Am I known for my timing or what?" Stephanie asked, then wished she'd kept the attempted joke to herself when a look from Ranger reminded her of other events of that night. Like almost losing her job because she'd left the damn gun in the car when she'd gone up to find the person her mother had sent her to pick something up from.

Ranger had not been very pleased with her. In fact he'd been down right p.o'd. The scary side of him came out.

Well hell.. it's not like she was -on the job- for Rangeman.. She was only going after a damn cake pan, and didn't think she needed a gun for that. When Ranger found out what she had done.. He almost fired her. Rule number one for employees of Rangeman.. ALWAYS carry your gun. Rule number two.. hope like hell Ranger doesn't find out you broke rule number one if you come across a crazed serial killer trying to snub the life out of someone. She still didn't remember how she had taken the stun gun he'd used to subdue his sister before taking a knife to her body, away from him that night... must have been some of that self defense stuff Ranger was always making her work out at.. Or just the Plum luck... Anyway.. she'd stunned him with it and then went to check on the victim.. who turned out to be Callie. When the cops along with Joe Morelli and Ranger showed up.. Drew Taylor was gone.

Three days later he had come after Stephanie only to have the bad luck of breaking in on the same night Ranger had decided to pull one of his nightly visits. Ranger had his gun. Not that he needed to use it to capture Taylor.. but ever since that night, Stephanie had been diligent about making sure to have her gun with her when she went out.. Even if she still hated the damn thing. She so did not want Ranger to fire her. She liked her job.

"Babe."

Stephanie looked up at him, trying to remember why they were there. "What.. huh?"

"Pay attention," he ordered. Then turned back to Callie. "These disk's you have dealing with your brother's business... Are they hidden near by? Can you get to them."

She shot him a look, her face expressionless. "Those disk's are my insurance."

Stephanie reached out and took the woman's hand in her own. "Let Ranger have the disk's. If he can use them to figure out how to get Drew.. wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"God Yes! That would be a great thing. I'd give up tasty cakes, and promise not to buy a new pair of shoes for a whole year to get Drew out of my life," Callie grumbled, then her blue eyes narrowed as she cut a quick look back in the direction of where Bobby was standing. "There's one little problem. I have this trust issue going on... I don't trust him ( she jerked her thumb to where Bobby was leaning against the walk) worth a damn any longer and he works for him... Who I also have good reason not to trust."

"Name one," Stephanie prompted.

This time she pointed at Ranger, without looking at either of the men. "-He- broke into my home, pinned me to my bed.. knocked me out, kidnapped me, brought me here where I found myself tied to this damn chair and then he tried to drug me to get me to tell him something I couldn't have told him even if I had wanted too.. That one (points at Bobby again) wined me, dined me, then seduced me, shared my bed.. made me believe that he cared about me... But it was all a lie. He was only there because he was –doing his job-. A job which your Batman sent him to do! So you tell me Steph.. Why should I trust either one of them again?"

The lady had a point.

"You trust me don't you," Stephanie asked. "Have I ever lied to you or steered you wrong? And it wasn't my fault that shoe sale at the mall ended the day before we went.. Their ad in the paper was dated wrong. Other then that.."

Callie shook her head. "No.. You've always kept your word. I know I can trust you."

"Then trust me now," she coaxed softly. "Give Ranger the disks and let him use them to find Drew and make sure he'll never be a threat to you ever again."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Okay.. because I trust you.. I'll give –Ranger- another chance and get the disks for him."

"What about Bobby," Stephanie asked quickly, hoping she wasn't stretching her luck. "Doesn't he deserve a second chance too."

"Stephanie have you ever seen a pig fly?" Callie asked.

"Err.. No.."

"Me either."

Stephanie found Callie something besides her night clothes to wear for the trip, and they left, taking one of the all black SUV's Rangeman had in it's fleet.

When the four of them return from retrieving the disks in the place where Callie had hidden them, Stephanie insisted on taking Callie up to one of the apartments and letting her sleep for a while.

Ranger, wanting nothing more than to go over the disks, agreed to allow the use of the room. He told Stephanie to come back down once she got the girl settled in. He wasn't worried about the girl going any where. The forth floor was monitored by hidden camera's and if she tried to get away unseen... the elevators could be locked down from the control room.

He held the package of disks in his hand, calling Bobby to come with him as he headed off towards his office. It was time for their –talk-...

To be Continued... Next up... The Talk..